As long as it's wood specifically for aquariums (usually driftwood) it's fine. Malaysian driftwood is the best. Mopani is too hard, grape vines (sold in pet stores for reptiles) mess up the tank, spider wood and manzanita is lacking the width to provide hiding spaces.
A well-balanced Pleco diet consists of: Algae and sinking algae wafers. Supplement with raw zucchini or cucumbers as a treat once or twice a week. Raw vegetables should be anchored near the bottom of the aquarium.
yes, pleco have teeth like formations for rasping algae and wood.
All tropical fish require a heater. Plecos are not cold-water fish. Even if they were, it would be a good idea to include a heater in the tank to make sure the water temperature never drops too far.
Plecos can eat vegetables. Romaine lettuce, the tops of celery and other leafy vegetables provide a good plant food source. Slices of cucumber, parboiled zucchini and parboiled peas are welcome in the pleco's diet.
Thebandedman. All my Clown plecos have always loved Malaysian driftwood, usually at your LFS. In all my personal experience a lot of woods go through a cycle, especially mobanI wood.
What fish eat poop? As far as we are aware, there are no freshwater fish that have poop as a necessary part of their diet. Some fish such as Corydoras and Plecostomus catfish are said to eat poop – but even if they did, they still require feeding just as any other fish would.
You could go with 2 females and they should get along. I don't recommend you put 2 males in there though. They can get territorial. I usually don't recommend them for algae control though.
Plecos are messy fish which produce a lot of waste (and no, they don't eat poop). They requre heavy filtration and lots of water changes. Having a pleco is NOT a substitute for regularly cleaning your tank, doing water changes and vacuuming your substrate to remove waste.
Firstly, a lot of the dreaded pleco poop comes from eaten algae, which you cannot really control beyond reducing light, which you can't do in a planted tank. Secondly, in most tanks you can't really control how much each individual fish eats. You feed them as a group.
If they aren't passing a lot of feces, they aren't being fed enough. Plecos need to eat a lot, and feeding every 3 days is really bad advice. Any fish that eats vegetable matter needs a lot of food volume. If they aren't passing a lot of feces, they aren't being fed enough.
Some plecs stay small 8 inches or so, others grow to 12 inches or more. These guys need around 200 litres as a minimum for them to be happy, and yes they do create a lot of waste matter, the filter on a small 10g tank may not cope.
There are lots of reasons why this happened. Primarily though, I'd say your pleco died of a combination of being too cold and being in an un cycled aquarium. Look up the nitrogen cycle and fishless and fish-in cycling on this website. Also, never, ever take the fish out of the tank for any reason.
In a well matured tank bio film will breakdown "eat" fish poop and in turn your shrimp will graze on the bio film, but as stated above they do not feed on feces itself. Ghost shrimp are usually sold as feeders in LFS so I'd say go for a dozen or so, not just one.
Paul Shafland, senior scientist at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's non-native fish laboratory in Boca Raton, said there are no conclusive studies that show the plecostomus poses a serious threat to native wildlife.
Overview chart for individual fasting tolerances of popular freshwater fish
| Type of fish: | Period it can safely live with no food: |
|---|
| African Cichlids | up to 10 days |
| Plecos | 10 to 14 days |
| Oscars | up to 2 weeks |
| Swordtail fish | maximum of 14 days |
They will not need a air pump if there is a good filter that causes lots of surface disturbance. If it every looks like your pleco is gasping for air and not swimming a lot then you need to get a air pump.
Add driftwood to the tank if you don't already have it. Those plecos are also quite small, you should try to get them at about 4" or 10cm. Algae wafers are a pretty good staple for plecos, you might want to add cucumber or lettuce to supplement.
In theory, it is possible to keep fish without a filter. Plus, like goldfish, Plecos make a lot of waste and a lot of ammonia, which makes it that much harder to maintain the water quality and if it is not maintained, the fish will get sick.
The smallest pleco commonly available is the bristle nose (bushy nose) and they get to at least 5 inches long and need 20 gallons or more. Five gallon tanks are very limited and not intended for a community, territorial fish, very active fish, or anything much larger than an adult inch.
Registered. I have bushy nosed plecos they are the same as yours. I have a air bubble wand and mine are fine. They like the bubbles.
Both my Sail Fin and Bristle Nose Pleco love raw zucchinI stuffed with a veggie or spirulina wafer. Too, you can place some ornaments/rocks/miniature terracotta pots in a bucket of water and set the bucket in full sun to grow some algae. These fish love algae!
Can Plecos Survive Cold Water? Most plecos are tolerant of waters ranging from 65 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit (18-30°C), though they prefer temperatures between about 75 and 82°F (24-28°C). With that being said, there are some pleco species that are hardier than others, and may be able to withstand some cooler waters.
Aquarium slate is ideal for aquascaping and is a great way to add a natural feel to your tropical fish tank. Use the thin natural slate to layer and build ledges and crevices that your fish can use for shelter and spawning. When submerged in aquarium water the stones will darken creating a sleek black colour.
